Volume 96, Issue 4, 2018
May 2018
- Identifier:
- nela.2018_096_04
- Title:
- Volume 96, Issue 4, 2018
- Issue Name:
- May 2018
- Date Issued:
- 2018-05-01
- year:
- 2018
- month:
- May
- Season:
- Spring
- PDF filename:
- NL_96.04_2018_May_Spreads_Entire.pdf
- Publisher:
- Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
- Format:
- Periodical
- volume:
- 096
- issue:
- 04
- number:
- 096.04
- Decade:
- 2010s
- Type:
- Rights Holder:
- Copyright Nebraskaland Magazine/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, all rights reserved.
- Extracted Text:
-
Publis hed by
y the Nebr a s k a Ga m e a nd Pa r k s C o m m is s io n si nc e 1926
NEBRASKAland
May 2018
The
Oglala
Grassland
Many morel mushroom hunters heed the old-time advice and
head to the woods “when the lilacs bloom.” These two beauties
were found in Knox County at the end of the first week in May.
Photo by Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley.
● RVs
RV
R
Vs
at State
at
Stta
ate
e Parks
Pa
arrks
ks
See page 20
NebraskalandMagazine.com
$4.95
INSIDE
The Fishing Lure of the Year ● The Nebraska Table
Travel to North Platte ● Bioblitz ● RVs at State Parks
Masters of the Hunt – Field Trial Dogs ● Alkali Milkvetch
NEBRASKAland Magazine
Volume 96
●
No. 4
●
May 2018
F EAT U R ES . . .
20 Grassland Greatness
S
P
J
H
28 Time Well Spent – What to Do in May
TORY AND HOTOS BY USTIN
AAG
BY RENAE BLUM
30 Field Trial Dogs
Masters of the Hunt
STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARK HARRIS
36 All Creatures Great and Small
BY RENAE BLUM
Table
38 TheB RNebraska
S
44 Alkali Milkvetch
Y YAN PARKS
BY GERRY STEINAUER
46 The Blues and the Nemahas
20
●
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY
I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E ...
From Our Readers – Letters, Comments, Etc. ........... 4
Mixed Bag – The Eastern Cottontail Rabbit, Travel to
North Platte, A Brief History of Muddy Nebraska, Catch
and Release, Tree Diversity, Bug Banter, Upcoming Events,
and more ............................................................................. 6
Parks & Places – RVs in State Parks ........................ 50
Take a Kid Outside Day ........................................ 55
Portraits from the Past – Readers' Photos ............. 58
The Last Stop – Night Trains and Time Machines ... 60
28
●
44
●
O N TH E W EB . . .
To see additional content including photos,
videos and additional articles, visit
magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/digital
Cover: A young swift fox looks out over the short grass of Sioux
County. The swift fox is among the many remarkable species that
call the Oglala Grassland home. Photo by Justin Haag.
NEBRASKAland (VOL. 96 / NO. 4 ISSN 0028-1964) is published monthly, except
for the combined Jan./Feb. and Aug./Sept. issues, by the Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission, 2200 N. 33rd St., Lincoln, NE. Periodicals postage paid at Lincoln,
Nebraska, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
NEBRASKAland, P.O. Box 30370, Lincoln, NE 68503-0370.
2 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
30
●
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 3
NEBRASKAland Magazine
Bart Torbert wrote, "My wife and I live southeast of
Crawford on Pine Ridge. We call our place 'Shaggy
Hills Ranch.' Over last night, we had freezing fog
move in. It created a nice display of hoarfrost."
Instagramer @life_unbound posted this photo: "It took everything in her
to sit on the side of the bank and watch John Paul fish. Normally she's
right there next to him, or swimming in the fishing hole – but that water
was just too dang cold."
Dennis Loose shot this red fox image in
his southwest Lincoln backyard.
ADMINISTRATION
CONSERVATION OFFICERS
Director Jim Douglas
Deputy Director Tim McCoy
Commissioners
Chairman - Dick Bell, Omaha
Vice Chairman - Robert Allen, Eustis
2nd Vice Chairman - Dan Kreitman, Wahoo
Rick Brandt, Roca
Pat Berggren, Broken Bow
Jim Ernst, Columbus
Norris Marshall, Kearney
Doug Zingula, Sidney
Scott Cassels, Omaha
ADMINISTRATION (Lincoln)
Craig Stover (Administrator)
Duane Arp (Asst. Administrator)
Jeff Clauson (Asst. Administrator)
MAGAZINE STAFF
Nature Journaling
Great feature this month with Renae Blum
on discovering the outdoors through nature
journaling. I really enjoyed it.
Best regards,
Bobby Hurt
Cordel, Georgia
Roger Welsch's Fire
Please inform Roger Welsch how much
I enjoyed his column in the March 2018
issue of NEBRASKAland. I have enjoyed his
humorous columns in NEBRASKAland and other
magazines, but I thought this one was particularly
sensitive and insightful.
Mary E. Blake
Sent via e-mail
Paul Pack took this image of a ring-billed
gull at Johnson Lake in Gosper County.
Communications Director Christy Firestone
Editor Jeff Kurrus
Art Director Tim Reigert
Associate Editor Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
Regional Editors Eric Fowler, Julie Geiser,
Justin Haag
Contributing Editor Michael Forsberg
Regular Contributors Renae Blum,
Chris Helzer, Chris Masada, Gerry Steinauer
Photo Librarian Jaclyn Cruikshank Vogt
Circulation Donna Robinson
For address changes and questions about
your subscription, e-mail donna.robinson@
nebraska.gov or call 800-632-5263
Advertising Sales Manager
For advertising information contact
Shane G. Gilster, 402-742-0125
Email: shanegilster@gmail.com
NEBRASKAland Magazine Copyright 2018, all rights reserved.
NEBRASKAland is available in audio from the Nebraska Library
Commission Talking Book and Braille Service, Suite 120, 1200 N St.,
Lincoln, NE 68508. 800-742-7691. NEBRASKAland Magazine and the
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission reserve the right to reject any
advertising not in keeping with the agency mission.
Rates: $18 for one year; $33 for two years; $44 for three years. Nebraska
recipients must add appropriate sales tax. To subscribe call
1-800-NEBLAND (632-5263), or go online to: NebraskalandMagazine.
com.
COMMISSION
C
CO
COM
OM
MMIS
MIS
SSIO
S N OFFICES
OFFI
FF CES
FF
S
Headquarters/Southeast District Office
2200 N. 33rd Street Lincoln, NE 68503
Phone 402-471-0641
Richard Jones shot this image of the moon south of Gothenburg with a
Nikon P900.
Lake Wanahoo Fishing
I’d like to thank the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for
producing an excellent fishery at Lake Wanahoo. This fishery has
provided an amazing opportunity for many new metro-area anglers
and has even provided a rare opportunity for trophy-class northern
pike fishing in eastern Nebraska. Thank you for enacting a catch and
release only policy on northern pike that is allowing for this treat in a
heavily-fished region. Recently, Greg Ernst and I had the opportunity
to allow three young fisherman (Weston Walsh of Omaha, Blake
Yarborough of Elkhorn and Micah Spies of Elkhorn) to catch their
first-ever fish through the ice, and in addition to many crappie and
bluegill, they each had the opportunity to catch their first northern
pike. In fact, Micah, age 5, caught the first fish of his life, a nice
crappie, and then minutes later, landed a 14-pound giant of a pike!
What a way to start your fishing career. Photo shows Micah Spies with
his 39-inch, 14-pound second fish of his life.
Chris Pokorny
Elkhorn, Nebraska
4 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
Suzie Walgren sent in this image of the
moon. It was taken using a Tamron 150600 on a Canon 5D MIII body. This is a
composite of two shots.
Send your comments to:
Jeff Kurrus, Editor
NEBRASKAland Magazine
P.O. Box 30370
Lincoln, NE 68503
or e-mail Jeff.Kurrus@Nebraska.gov
Please include your postal address
and telephone number. Letters may be
condensed and edited. Photographs are also
welcome.
Any program that receives federal funding from the National Park
Service, or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service prohibits unlawful
discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, marital
status, national origin, age, disability or political affiliation. Any person
who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any program,
activity, facility, or service, should contact the Nebraska Game and
Parks Commission, Lincoln, NE 402-471-0641, the Equal Opportunity
Commission, Lincoln, NE 402-471-2024, TTY/TDD 402-471-4693;
United States Fish Wildlife Service, Civil Rights Coordinator, 4401
N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203; Director, Equal Opportunity
Program, U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, 1849 C
Street NW, Mail Code 0008, Washington, D.C. 20240-0001.
Northeast District Office
2201 N. 13th St. Norfolk, NE 68701
Phone 402-370-3374
Southwest District Office
301 E. State Farm Rd. North Platte, NE 69101
Phone 308-535-8025
Northwest District Office
East Hwy. 2, Box 725 Alliance, NE 69301
Phone 308-763-2940
Bassett Office
524 Panzer St., Box 508 Bassett, NE 68714
Phone 402-684-2921
Kearney Office
1617 First Ave. Kearney, NE 68847
Phone 308-865-5310
Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium
21502 W. Highway 31 Gretna, NE 68028
Phone 402-332-3901
Omaha Office
8495 Frederick Street, Omaha, NE 68124
Phone 402-595-2144
402-471-5531
402-471-5531
402-471-5531
NORTHWEST (Includes counties covered)
Jim Zimmerman (District Supt.)
308-641-6138
Sean McKeehan
(Cheyenne, Morrill, Box Butte)
308-279-9133
Scott Brandt
(Kimball, Banner, Scotts Bluff)
308-631-0663
Dan Kling (Sioux, Dawes)
308-430-0572
Kyler Prochaska
(E 1/2 Dawes, N 1/2 Sheridan, W 1/2 Cherry) 308-430-3984
Terry Brentzel (Deuel, Garden, Grant) 308-458-7650
402-389-0444
Frank Miller (Cherry, Hooker)
NORTHEAST (Includes counties covered)
Tom Zimmer (District Supt.)
402-649-8053
402-760-0712
Dale Davis (Keya Paha, Brown, Rock)
402-340-3981
Jonathan Andreasen (Holt, Boyd)
402-719-6226
Kyle Gaston (Dodge, Colfax)
Greg Hesse
(Greeley, Wheeler, Boone, S 1/2 Antelope)
402-843-6567
Mitch Johnson (Knox, Antelope, Pierce) 402-613-8612
402-762-5022
Jeff Jones (Knox, Cedar)
Jon Reeves
(S 1/2 Thurston, Burt, Washington)
402-889-8508
Andrew Heyer (Pierce, Madison, Stanton) 402-613-2241
Cory Krause
(Cuming, Wayne, Stanton, Dodge)
402-380-6410
Steve Oberg
(Colfax, Platte, Madison, Stanton, Nance)
402-910-3366
Owen Johnson
(Dixon, Dakota, N 1/2 Thurston)
402-266-1759
308-730-7050
Doug Pollard (Loup, Garfield, Valley)
SOUTHWEST (Includes counties covered)
Roger Thompson (District Supt.)
308-530-3097
308-202-0819
Matt Brandt (Sherman, Howard)
308-380-7331
Tim Williams (Hall, Hamilton, Merrick)
Pat George
(Harlan, Franklin, Phelps)
308-920-2762
Matt Andrews
(Gosper, Furnas, Frontier, Red Willow)
308-746-2418
Brian Piernicky
(Red Willow, Frontier, Hayes, Hitchcock)
308-340-6627
John Lee (Hitchcock, Dundy, Chase, Hayes) 308-414-1432
308-289-0427
Nicholas Fix (Keith, Perkins)
308-289-1169
Bryce Streger (Keith, Arthur)
308-760-0145
Sean Schultz (Keith)
Brandon O’Neal
(Lincoln, McPherson, Logan)
308-530-3157
Alex Hasenauer
(Lincoln, McPherson, Logan)
308-660-4671
Dale Johnson (Kearney, Buffalo)
308-440-3847
308-529-8146
Mike Thome (Dawson)
Ray Dierking (Custer, Thomas, Blaine) 308-870-0322
Taylor Dixon
(Dawson, N 1/2 Gosper, N 1/2 Phelps)
308-217-2108
SOUTHEAST (Includes counties covered)
Levi Krause (District Supt.)
402-949-0593
402-619-1355
Rich Berggren (Douglas)
402-616-5961
Dan Evasco (Sarpy)
402-210-0888
Heath Packett (Cass)
402-209-1506
Russell Mort (Otoe, Johnson)
William Krause
(Nemaha, Richardson, Pawnee)
402-274-8063
Matt Taylor (Thayer, Fillmore, Jefferson) 402-200-9597
402-806-9084
Dan Zuehlke (Gage, Saline)
402-890-6463
Dina Barta (Lancaster)
402-937-3422
Dudley Sorensen (Lancaster, York)
402-613-2312
Travis Shepler (Lancaster)
402-314-9641
Trevor Stahlecker (Lancaster)
402-890-7140
Stacey Lewton (Lancaster, Seward)
402-443-6392
Mike Luben (Saunders, Butler, Polk)
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 5
A
Mammal
Brief
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit
By Lindsay Rogers
PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG
By most accounts, there
are 35 subspecies of the eastern cottontail.
Nebraska is home to two cottontail species – Sylvilagus floridanus mearnsi and
Sylvilagus floridanus similis, the common name for both is conveniently “eastern cottontail.” One species,
Sylvilagus floridanus mearnsi, is found in the eastern quarter of the state. The other, Sylvilagus floridanus
similis, is found in the western three-fourths of the state.
Both species are herbivores that feed on grasses, clover and ornamental flowers in the summer and twigs,
bark and buds of trees and shrubs in the winter. Both cottontail rabbits and white-tailed deer will feed on twigs
in the winter. A careful observer can tell the difference by looking at how the twig was bitten. Because rabbits
have both upper and lower incisors they will make a clean bite. White-tailed deer lack upper incisors, forcing
them to tear off the twig.
Eastern cottontails can be found in a wide range of habitats, including meadows, orchards, open woodlands
and urban areas. Their range is between 5-8 acres depending on food availability. They are a solitary species
coming together only to mate. ■
Lindsay Rogers is an outdoor education specialist with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
6 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 7
Travelogue
Travelogue Sponsor
Visit North Platte
●
North Platte
By Brenna McFadden, Nebraska Tourism Commission
N
orth Platte, located in Lincoln County, is a town rich
with the history of one of the most colorful figures
of the American Old West, Buffalo Bill Cody. Come
explore the places of lore where rodeos offer great
entertainment and other adventures abound.
Do
With so much history in this town you may find it hard
to decide what not to visit while you’re spending time in
North Platte. The Golden Spike Tower offers a bird’s eye
view of the World’s Largest Railroad Classification Yard.
Stop here first to get an idea of all the possibilities this
town has to offer. Some of the more notable attractions
include the Buffalo Bill State Historical Park, the Lincoln
County Historical Museum and Cody Park. Be sure to put
NEBRASKAland Days in your calendar on June 13 – it is an
event you won’t want to miss!
Stay
If you’re looking for a cozy escape, Li'l Bit Country Cabin
is where country meets city. This peaceful cabin on the
edge of town is nestled in the pines between large gardens
and a rustic wildlife sanctuary. Want more of a larger hotel
experience? The Best Western, Comfort Inn, Hampton Inn and
recently renovated Holiday Inn Express are great options, too.
Shopping
North Platte offers a unique shopping experience. You can
visit Nebraska’s largest souvenir and western gift store and
an Old West Museum all at the Fort Cody Trading Post. If
you are feeling adventurous you can spend all day at the
Grain Bin Antique Town which features 15 historic grain
bins filled to the brim with antiques. You won’t find an
experience like this anywhere else.
Eat
Explore
Pals Brewing Company produces and serves homebrewed
beer, incredible cheese curds and house-crafted pizza. If you
are interested in a nice breakfast and lunch spot you can
swing by the Espresso Shop. North Platte is also home to
restaurants that serve unique and interesting cuisines – the
Canteen Bar & Lounge and Tempura Japanese Restaurant
are just two of the local favorites.
Dusty Trails offers a variety of activities ranging from
horseback riding, tanking, kayaking, canoeing or just
hanging out at a petting zoo. If you’re looking to soak up
some sun, head south of town to Lake Maloney, a popular
spot for boating, fishing, water sports, camping and family
fun. If you are a mountain biker then you are in luck, for
Potter’s Pasture has some of the best mountain bike trails
around and they are suitable for riders of any ability. ■
Visitors at Buffalo Bill Ranch
State Historical Park.
PHOTO BY JULIE GEISER
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 9
A Brief History
Muddy Nebraska
By Patricia C. Gaster,
Nebraska State Historical Society
I
t’s small consolation if you ever get stuck
in the mud, but the fact is Nebraska has
come a long way since pioneer times in the
development of its public roads and highways.
A glance through pioneer reminiscences and the
spring issues of early newspapers provide plenty of
evidence that good old-fashioned Nebraska mud was one of
the principle obstacles in the way of spring travel here.
Covered wagon emigrants, beating their way to Oregon,
California or Utah, frequently had trouble with the muddy
Nebraska leg of the long journey, almost always undertaken
in early spring. The trails became so badly rutted that
wagons could not pass, and new roads had to be marked out.
This accounts in part for the fact that the Oregon Trail may
be several miles wide in certain parts of the state, notably
Stuck in the mud near Bancroft, ca. 1910s. NSHS RG3334-1-56
southeastern Nebraska.
In territorial times, roads were little better than trails and
when the ground thawed out in the spring they usually were
impassable. Rural roads were not the only ones afflicted by
the spring thaw. Villages and city streets suffered in equal or
greater proportion.
An editorial in the Dakota City Democrat, April 13, 1861,
issue may be considered typical: “Last week this city was
visited by shower after shower of April rain that reduced
Mud wasn’t just for backroads. Here’s the old state capitol (on
the site of the present capitol) in about 1898.
NSHS RG2158-12-20
the condition of our streets to the consistency of paste.
Pedestrians worked them up into a still worse condition
... until the upper surface for two feet deep, was of the
primitive nature of brick. Stilts, and other pedal appendages,
adroit jumping, and the aquatic knowledge of sturgeons,
were in much requisition.”
Even the proud city of Omaha was afflicted with mud.
The Omaha Daily Bee, on May 28, 1881, reported that a
team of horses pulling a grocery wagon had recently been
rescued from a mudhole near 14th and Douglas streets. An
unsuccessful attempt to eliminate the hole had been made
by city workmen, who filled it with soft mud and then
smoothed dirt over the top.
But when a team of horses “touched the reconstructed
mudhole, they sunk to their shoulders in soft mire. The
efforts which they made to get out only sunk them deeper.
... After struggling in the pit for about an hour a sufficient
crowd collected to raise one of the horses bodily and remove
it to firm ground. The other horse was taken out after
much difficulty. It was badly strained in the process and its
harness nearly ruined.” The Bee noted, “The matter created
considerable indignation.” ■
The Elmer Ball family, Woods Park (Custer County), 1886. NSHS RG2608-1069
10 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
Visit the Nebraska State Historical Society’s website at
history.nebraska.gov.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 11
Catch and
Release
•
•
•
•
•
12 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
PHOTO
PHOT
O BY JEF
JEFF
F KURRUS
KURRUS
By Julie Geiser
Many anglers enjoy taking home
what they catch to eat, while other
anglers release every fish they catch.
If you choose to release fish you
catch, remember that proper care and
handling is vital to survival.
There are many reasons to catch and
release fish: A fish may be too small
and does not meet the minimum size
required by state laws; the fish may
be legal in size but too small for the
angler to clean; or the fish species
may not be the angler's preferred
fish to eat. It is also good etiquette to
release trophy-size fish, which are rare.
Practicing catch and release of big fish
will provide another lucky angler with
a great experience in the future. To
properly catch and release fish, follow
these guidelines:
The less you handle the fish, the
better off it will be. Be particularly
careful of the mucus coating or slime
on a fish. This coating protects fish
from infection, so the less you remove,
the better. If you need to handle the
fish, wet your hands first; this will
cause less slime to come off the fish.
If possible, keep the fish in the water
when removing the hook.
Rubber mesh nets also tend to
be less harmful to fish. Netting a fish
prevents dropping them in a boat or
laying them on the ground and can help
you get the fish back into the water
faster.
To hold a fish, firmly grip behind
the head with your thumb on one side
and your fingers on the other side,
holding the gills shut. Use your other
hand to hold the tail. Never hold a fish
by the eye sockets or inside of the gills
if you intend to release the fish.
Remove the hook gently with
needle-nose pliers by twisting the hook
shank while pushing it toward the
bend. Remove hooks if at all possible,
but if removing it will cause more harm
to the fish, then consider harvesting
that fish.
Cutting the line and leaving the
hook in should be your last resort.
If the line is cut and the hook is left
inside the fish, the old school of
A smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) caught on a woolly bugger fly is handled
carefully prior to releasing.
thought was to cut the line as close to
the hook as possible. It is now believed
that by leaving several inches of line
attached to the hook, the trailing line
will lever the hook to the side and
allow the fish to continue feeding and
give it a better chance of survival.
Sometimes a fish is so exhausted
from a fight that even though it is alive,
it can’t move water through its gills
fast enough to recuperate. You can
revive fish by moving the fish through
water, headfirst, to force water into its
mouth and gills; do not swish a fish
back and forth as water entering the
gills from the rear can be damaging.
Support the fish by placing one hand
under its belly, keep it upright. Hold
the mouth open with your other hand
if necessary, provided that it is not full
of sharp teeth, making sure you are not
blocking the gill flaps. The fish will
revive in most cases and swim off on
its own when ready.
To preserve the memory of a
fish, take photos before releasing it. If
your fish qualifies for a Master Angler
Award you can still receive the award
for released fish. Land, measure and
release the fish in the presence of a
witness or take a photograph to verify
your catch. Then fill out the Master
Angler application stating you released
the fish, along with the witness’
signature or a photo. Do not weigh
the fish; measuring a fish's length is
quicker and requires less handling.
•
•
Replica mounts are popular for
those wanting a fish hanging on the
wall, even after catch and release.
These fiberglass forms can be created
to look exactly like the fish you caught
without sacrificing the actual fish. Take
photos of both sides of the fish and
from different angles. Also measure
the fish from the tail to the tip of
the snout, and get the circumference
around the widest part of the fish for
the taxidermist.
We can have larger fish in our
waters if we give them the proper
amount of growth time, good habitat
and moderate fishing pressure – and
use catch and release. It is one way to
make a difference. ■
•
A 14-inch fiberglass yellow perch replica
mount by Coast to Coast Fish Mounts.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 13
Tree Diversity
14 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
Tree diversity throughout the state will be key in the coming
years to prevent disease outbreaks.
If we follow this guideline now and in the future, we
may not be faced with catastrophic losses when another insect
or disease problem occurs. As an example, if you have 100 trees
growing in one of your campgrounds you should have no more
than 20 different kinds of oaks or 20 maples.
Reducing trees to 30 percent of any given family becomes
a little more difficult. Some experts have proposed the idea of
no more than 5 percent of one species planted in any
given area. Many of our campgrounds have cottonwoods that
pre-date the campgrounds themselves, and these old giants
are coming to the ends of their lives. This turnover will give
us a chance to diversify these areas so we do not repeat
history.
Therefore, no more than 20 percent of any one genus
should be planted in a given area. This concept is far from
perfect, but it is a start to diversifying our campgrounds. ■
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
By Steve Brey, Horticulturalist
With emerald ash borer about to ravage our state and
eliminate one of our most widespread and common native
trees, the green ash, tree diversity is imperative.
Dutch elm disease took the American elm out of our
pallet of plantable trees starting in the 1960s. Every village,
town and city used this iconic tree as a street and park tree.
Because of our love for this tree, we couldn't get enough
of it, and that was a big mistake. Along came Dutch elm
disease, which for the most part, wiped out the entire
American elm population. We learned a valuable lesson:
diversify, diversify, and diversify.
The problem is we did not heed our own advice, and
because of this we are now facing another monumental
problem of removing ash trees. Entire neighborhoods, or in
the case of our state parks, entire campgrounds were planted
back to ash after we lost our elms. That was understandable,
as ash is a native tree; this species is very tough and able to
withstand harsh growing conditions. But there was no excuse
for over-planting.
A useful guideline for tree planting is the 10-20-30 rule,
proposed by Dr. Frank Santamour at the U.S. National
Arboretum. The 10-20-30 rule, also called the 10 percent
rule, basically states that in any one area the tree population
should not contain more than 10 percent of one species, 20
percent of one genus and 30 percent of one family.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 15
Presented by
Bug Banter
By Julie Van Meter
State Entomologist,
Nebraska
Department
of Agriculture
T
he European gypsy moth
(Lymantria dispar) is an exotic,
invasive forest pest not currently
found in Nebraska. This pest was
first introduced into the United States
in Massachusetts in 1869, and it has
since spread to
include most of
the northeastern
U.S., west into
Wisconsin and
Minnesota, and
south to Virginia.
Gypsy moths
overwinter in
the egg stage;
egg masses are
light tan and may
contain up to 600
eggs. Egg masses Gypsy Moth Egg
Masses.
are usually
PHOTO COURTESY OF KARLA
deposited on tree SALP, WASHINGTON STATE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
bark, but can
BUGWOOD.ORG
16 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
Gypsy Moth Caterpillar.
PHOTO COURTESY OF USDA APHIS PPQ ,
USDA APHIS PPQ, BUGWOOD.ORG.
also be found on items such as vehicles
and outdoor furniture. Eggs hatch in
early spring and the hungry caterpillars
begin to feed. Gypsy moth caterpillars
are hairy and have a distinct series of
five pairs of blue dots followed by six
pairs of red dots on their backs. The
caterpillars go through several instars
before pupating in early summer,
with adults emerging in early- to midsummer.
The adult male gypsy moth is
brownish-gray, with black markings
and feathery antennae. The adult
female is white with black markings
and larger than the male. While males
are good fliers, females do not fly.
Gypsy moth caterpillars feed on
numerous plants, including oaks,
birch, hawthorn, linden, willow,
plums, pine, spruce and even cedar.
Defoliation stresses the tree, and
repeated infestations make the plants
more susceptible to secondary attack
by other insects and diseases.
The Nebraska Department of
Agriculture Entomology Program
conducts surveys for gypsy moth each
year, setting several hundred delta traps
across the state. Traps are set by late
June, and remain out until September.
High-risk sites for introduction include
nurseries, campgrounds and rest stops,
and major travel routes.
In addition to trapping, the Nebraska
Department of Agriculture staff also
inspects regulated articles such as
nursery stock, firewood and Christmas
trees for evidence of gypsy moth
infestations and to ensure compliance
with the federal gypsy moth
quarantine. ■
If you suspect you’ve found a gypsy
moth caterpillar or adult in Nebraska,
take photos or collect a specimen. Then
contact the Nebraska Department of
Agriculture at 402-471-2351 or
agr.plant@nebraska.gov to report the
possible sighting.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 17
Lure of the Year – Buzzbaits
May 13
Family Fishing Event
By Jeff Kurrus
Sometime last
spring I had a
conversation
with longtime
friend and
fishing
diehard
Monte
Mares of Seward.
We were discussing
our favorite lures and he told
me that he loved to fish small
crankbaits in the spring but, from then on, used buzzbaits. “The fish just can't
stand it!” he wrote me.
This last line kept me up at night last spring as I fumbled through my tacklebox,
my eyes always coming back to the pile of buzzbaits that I often fished. But not
often enough I soon learned.
After taking Monte's advice, I caught more Nebraska Master Angler fish, and saw
others catch more Master Angler fish, than I have in years. Nearly all of these fish
came off of buzzbaits, including me catching three different species that were all
Master Angler fish – multiple largemouth bass, northern pike and channel catfish.
On different public lakes, I watched all three of these fish species hit white
buzzbaits on the chase. The catfish was especially memorable as it, and its slightly
smaller brethren I caught a short time later, ran more than 20 feet to attack my
noise-making lure on top.
For specifics, it’s no different than using any other lure. Adjust the retrieval
speed, whether or not it is twitched as it moves, or the color. Also take a look at
its size and sound. I’ve seen days when the loudest, clackiest buzzbait was the
ticket, and others where subtlety was the key.
Regardless of what you choose, make sure you do make a choice by always
having one tied on your second or third rod and reel.
Then hold on when you get a strike. For if you're like me, you'll only know one
thing for certain when the fish hits – it's a big one. ■
Riverside Discovery Center Pond,
Scottsbluff
Contact the Nebraska Game and
Parks Commission at
402-471-0641 or visit
OutdoorNebraska.org for more
information. Visit HuntSafeNebraska.
org for a list of hunter education
classes and BoatSafeNebraska.org
for a list of boating safety classes.
May 1
Family Fishing Event
Terry’s Pit, Terrytown
May 2, 9, 16
Becoming an Outdoors-Woman
Archery Series
Platte River State Park (SP), Louisville
May 4
Outdoor Educational Rendezvous
Niobrara SP, Niobrara
May 5
Take Pride in America Day
Verdon Lake State Recreation Area
(SRA), Verdon
May 5
Family Fishing Event
Ponca SP, Ponca; Platte River SP,
Louisville
May 15
Northeast District Birding Day
Davis Creek Wildlife Management
Area, North Loup
Eugene T. Mahoney SP, Ashland
May 19
Free Fishing and Park Entry Day
No fishing or park entry permits
required this day
May 19
Bill Morris Memorial Fishing
Derby
May 28-Aug. 12
Summer Season at Roger G.
Sykes Outdoor Heritage Education
Complex
Mormon Island SRA, Doniphan
May 19
Wildcat Hills Wildlands
St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Omaha
May 9
Youth Fishing Instructor
Certification
May 31
May 19
Scavenger Hunt
Spring turkey
seasons
close
Fort Kearny SRA, Kearney
May 21-June 1
Holmes Lake, Lincoln
May 24
Family Fishing Event
Halleck Lake, Papillion
May 24
Family Nature Club
NGPC Outdoor Classroom,
Norfolk
May 25
Take Aim at Summer
Platte River SP, Louisville
Fort Kearny SHP, Kearney
May 26
Migratory Bird Day
May 11-12
Sip Nebraska Wine and Craft Beer
Festival
Indian Cave SP, Shubert;
Lewis and Clark SRA,
Crofton
Eugene T. Mahoney SP, Ashland
May 26
Early-Bird Bird Watching
May 12
Fort Kearny Outdoor Expo
Fort Kearny SRA, Kearney
May 12-13
Cowboy Ultra Race
Cowboy Trail, Valentine
Platte River SP, Louisville
Wildcat Hills SRA, Gering
May 22
Family Fishing Event
May 7
Linking Literature and Science:
Insects and Pollinators
May 27
Sidewalk Chalk Art and Bird
Program
May 19
Free Bird!
May 5-6
Living History
Arbor Lodge SHP, Nebraska City
Niobrara SP, Niobrara
Niobrara SP, Niobrara
Eligible landowners may apply for one
elk permit
May 5-19
Lilac Walk
May 26
National Park Service Event
Ponca SP, Ponca
Red Willow Reservoir SRA, McCook
Fort Atkinson State Historical Park
(SHP), Fort Calhoun
Morel mushroom hunting and
family fishing are two favorite
May events in Nebraska's
outdoors.
May 18
Stargazing
Niobrara SP, Niobrara
May 26
Bird in the Hand Program
Niobrara SP, Niobrara
PHOTOS BY JEFF KURRUS
by Jerry Kane
May 13
Mother’s Day Buffet
This Master Angler northern pike was caught on the east end of Pelican Lake at the
Valentine National Wildlife Refuge in Cherry County.
18 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
NEBRASKAland
Visitor
Last issue’s winner of
the Visitor drawing was
Steven Faust of Lincoln,
Nebraska, who found the
paper wasp on page 25.
Readers are encouraged to contact
NEBRASKAland within 10 days after
this issue’s publication with the
correct page number and name of
this issue’s “Visitor” – a critter found
in Nebraska. We will then gather the
correct entries and draw one to win a
NEBRASKAland mug.
To enter each month, write:
NEBRASKAland Visitor
2200 North 33rd Street
Lincoln, NE 68503
Or e-mail: Tim.Reigert@Nebraska.
gov with “Visitor” in the subject line
of the message.
HINT: This issue’s visitor is not on
page 2, 11, 17, 19, or 37.
Several species of paper wasps
(Polistes spp.) are found in Nebraska,
including P. metricus. They can be
distinguished from bees by their
thin “wasp” waist. While coloration
varies across species, their
biology is very similar.
Paper wasps are semi-social
al
insects. Mated females overwinter
winterr
in crevices or under bark, then
en
emerge in the spring. They select
a protected site, such as under the
eaves of buildings, and build a
small nest made of chewed wood
fibers and saliva arranged into
a comb of hexagonal cells. Then
they lay eggs, producing nonreproductive female workers. These
workers take over nest expansion,
food collection and rearing of
offspring; the reproductive female
continues to lay eggs. Males are
produced later in the season
to mate with newly emerged
reproductive females.
Paper wasps feed on other
insects, primarily caterpillars,
and are considered
beneficial insects.
Special thanks to Julie Van Meter,
State Entomologist, Nebraska
Department of Agriculture.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 19
Grassland
Greatness
Story and photos by Justin Haag
When people are looking for wide-open
spaces, it is hard to beat the beautiful
grassland in the northwestern corner of
Nebraska.
Flowering gumbo lilies and alkali milkvetch
decorate the Oglala National Grassland at sunrise.
Water flows along an ephemeral stream at Toadstool Geologic Park following a spring thunderstorm.
r
ravelers
to the northern Panhandle often find
fascination
f
with the buttes and forested regions of
the Pine Ridge. Just north of there, though, is a land
that is more subdued but equally enchanting: the
tha
Oglala National Grassland. Once visitors enter this
Og
landscape mostly void of trees, they realize there is
lan
plenty to be seen – and not much to get in the way of seeing
it. Be it a herd of pronghorn charging across the wide-open
prairie, the flight of the peculiar looking long-billed curlew,
or just horizon stretching as far as one can see, most want to
stick around a while and return later.
The Oglala National Grassland covers 94,480 acres of
public land intermixed with private north of Harrison and
Crawford managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Named
for the Sioux tribe of this region, it is one of 20 national
grasslands that are primarily located on the High Plains east
of the Rocky Mountains. The property is far from the largest
on the list, but when combined with the immense 597,178acre Buffalo Gap National Grassland on the other side of
the Nebraska-South Dakota border there is more than 1,000
square miles of open territory to explore free of charge.
Born out of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, the
federal government purchased national grasslands at above
market value to both help struggling farmers and ranchers
and to reclaim landscapes damaged by the agriculture
practices of that era. They were then leased for grazing.
A scene of grasslands and badlands, with an occasional
prominent landform rising above them, the mixed grass
22 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
prairie sprawls northward from the edge of the Pine
Ridge to the border. After the rain falls, lush green grass
stands in remarkable contrast to the chalky white badlands
interspersed among it.
One of Nebraska’s premier attractions is located within the
Oglala Grassland: Toadstool Geologic Park. The moon-like
surface of this area, with its sandstone features intricately
carved by centuries of erosion, has long fascinated visitors.
Despite the popularity, the only traffic jam visitors might
encounter on the dirt roads leading to and traversing the
grasslands is a cattle drive.
Pronghorn Country
Containing Nebraska’s largest expanse of public land
in pronghorn habitat, the Oglala Grassland draws a lot of
attention from hunters – especially those who like to spot
and stalk.
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission aerial surveys
show an average of nearly five pronghorn for every square
mile in the area, and the combined harvest on public and
private land here is greater than any other Nebraska unit.
The land also is home to mule deer, whitetails and sharptailed grouse. The Forest Service has established a public
blind to view the displaying grounds of sharptails in the
spring.
While this high and dry region is not known for deep
waters, numerous stock ponds do well with enough rain and
A long-billed curlew lands in
the shortgrass prairie in the
Oglala National Grassland.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 23
snow and provide fishing and earlyseason duck hunting opportunities.
Three reservoirs – Rock Bass, Agate
and Boardgate – are targeted for
panfish and largemouth bass.
A Rocking Place
Big game, birds and fish are not
the only quarry here. Other prizes lie
“beneath the surface.”
Volcanic ash that fell over the land
millions of years ago is responsible for
landforms that boost the grasslands’
appeal. It is also responsible for gumbo
– the clay-heavy soil that turns the
surface into a grease-like tire-spinner
with a little precipitation.
Among the clay soils are rocks that
washed down from the rising Black
Hills ages ago and are now attractive
to collectors. Rock hounds come
from afar looking for prized finds that
continue to surface, including Fairburn,
A red fox peers from behind a pile of downed trees in Warbonnet Creek valley north of
Harrison.
Prairie coneflower
blooms on the Oglala
National Grassland
north of Crawford.
A garter snake moves near a watering hole on the Oglala National Grassland west of Toadstool Park.
24 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 25
Trail Alliance, which has mapped a
1,500-mile hiking and biking route
from Texas to Canada. There are plans
this year to mark a new trail through
the grasslands leading to the famed
Mickelson Trail of South Dakota’s
Black Hills.
On the Frontier
The area’s ghost towns of Orella and
Montrose often capture the imagination
of those who enjoy frontier history.
Near Montrose is the Warbonnet
Battlefield Monument and Cody
Yellow Hair Monument. They
memorialize a conflict involving
“Buffalo Bill” Cody and Yellow
Hair, a Cheyenne warrior, in 1876.
The picturesque and well-maintained
Immaculate Conception Catholic
Church and cemetery is also a popular
stop.
Visitors can get another taste of the
Old West at the Drifter Cookshack
and High Plains Homestead. The only
restaurant in the area, it offers lodging
and more under the guise of a frontier
town.
With such diverse offerings in a
distinctive setting, visitors to the
grasslands are sure to leave with
memories unlike any they will get
anywhere else – and for a small
investment. In this enchanting country,
countless treasures await those who get
off the highway for a closer look. ■
To see more photos from this story, visit
magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/digital.
Ponderosa pine trees are obscured by early morning fog along Cottonwood Road in Sioux County.
Getting Out There
•
The Forest Service’s Motor
Vehicle Use Map, available at the
district headquarters in Chadron
or online, is key to identifying
public land and knowing which
roads are open to driving.
The gumbo soil becomes
nearly impassable after rain –
regardless if you have two-wheel
drive or four.
Toadstool Park has a primitive
camping area with picnic shelters
and vault toilets for a small fee.
The remaining federal property
allows dispersed camping, and
vehicles may park within 300 feet
of roads.
The openness of the country
means there is not much shade,
nor cover from wind, rain and
hail. Cell phone service is limited
so GPS units and maps prove
helpful.
More information at fs.fed.us.
•
•
•
•
26 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
prairie and blue agates, the latter
being Nebraska’s state gemstone.
Collecting is allowed on federal
land, except Toadstool Park, with
some regulations.
The soil has also preserved
countless fossils with clues to life
millions of years ago. Visitors
might see the fossilized shell of a
prehistoric turtle protruding from
the Toadstool Park area, where
other fossils such as entelodonts and
hyaenodons have been unearthed.
Only fossils of small invertebrates
and plants may be collected, though,
and strict regulations apply for
them.
One of the region’s largest
fossil discoveries is presented at
the Hudson-Meng Education and
Research Center, an enclosed fossil
dig of 600 Alberta Culture bison.
Another, two mammoths that
died with tusks locked in battle, is
displayed at the Trailside Museum
of Natural History at Fort Robinson
State Park.
Biologically Unique
The expansive prairie here is
one of the largest intact grasslands
remaining in Nebraska and is
identified as a Biologically Unique
Landscape of the Nebraska Natural
Legacy Project, the state’s wildlife
action plan.
The plan identifies four plants and
12 animal species in the area as either
threatened or endangered, including
the diminutive swift fox, ferruginous
hawks and Barr’s milkvetch.
Plant communities found here
are western floodplain terrace
grassland, silver sagebrush shrub
prairie, greasewood shrub prairie and
northwestern mixed-grass prairie.
Intermittent playa wetlands support
waterfowl in the spring. Prairie bird
species love the western wheatgrass,
little bluestem and other grass
species.
Colonies of prairie dogs support
a variety of wildlife while the
badlands create a home for species
such as the mountain short-horned
lizard. Creeks and intermittent streams
provide critical habitat for other
species, such as red fox.
Visitors are sure to see another large
mammal: domestic cattle. The federal
property is grazed by permits with the
Sugarloaf Grazing Association, a group
of about 30 nearby ranchers. Working
with the association, the Forest Service
uses grazing to knock back species
such as crested wheatgrass, a nonnative introduced after the Dust Bowl.
Paths Off
the Beaten Path
Hiking, bicycling and horseback
riding are gaining popularity on the
grasslands. The Bison Trail, a threemile hike between the Hudson-Meng
Center and Toadstool Park, has
received attention in several national
publications.
The Forest Service also is working
with advocates of the Great Plains
A buck pronghorn stands in a pasture on the Oglala National Grassland.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 27
Time Well Spent
What to Do in May
By Renae Blum
J
PHOTO BY DOUG CARROLL
ust on the cusp of summer, May is the perfect time to get excited about being
outdoors and staying active. Great fishing continues, as well as spring turkey season.
Read on for more ideas of things to do this month. For a complete list of upcoming
events across the state, or for more information on activities listed here, visit
Calendar.OutdoorNebraska.gov. ■
See Fossil Digs at
Ashfall Fossil Beds
State Historical
Park
Cornhusker Trapshoot
May 3-5
The home grounds of the Nebraska Trapshooting Association in
Doniphan
Starting Memorial Day
weekend
PHOTO BY JON FARRAR
Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park,
located 2 miles west and 6 miles north of
Royal, is one of the few places in the world
where the public can watch a live fossil
dig. Paleontologists are still uncovering
new finds at the site, where hundreds of
skeletons of extinct rhinos, camels, threetoed horses and other vertebrates are
buried in volcanic ash.
Events
Celebrating
Nebraska Bird
Month
Throughout the month
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
Platte River State Park
28 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
Starting Memorial Day weekend, paleontology students will be on-site conducting digs that visitors can watch. The park is also open
on a more limited basis starting May 1. During your visit, make sure to stop at the interpretive displays and the fossil preparation
laboratory, where you can ask the paleontologists about their work. Learn more and plan your visit at ashfall.unl.edu.
Visit Crawdad Creek
PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG
As one of the nation’s longest running and largest tournaments of its kind, with
about 2,500 junior and senior high competitors annually, the Cornhusker Trapshoot
is a unique experience for any onlooker. Keeping in mind the sound of thousands of
rounds of shotgun shells exploding; the talking, clapping and cheering of friends,
family, teammates and coaches; and the smell of spent gunpowder mingling in the air
with grilling burgers, funnel cakes and barbecue, trapshooting coach Joel W. Helmer
describes the experience as “an event like no other.”
Ashfall Fossil Beds State
Historical Park
Throughout the month
Enjoying nature is truly a hands-on experience at Platte
River State Park’s new Crawdad Creek feature. At these
series of shallow ponds, kids can dip their toes in the
water, feel mud run through their fingers, or catch a
crawdad, dragonfly, tadpole, reptile or fish.
Free Fishing and Park Entry Day
The new attraction is part of Game and Parks’ Venture
Parks complex, which greatly expands opportunities
for visitors at four parks, including Platte River. More
attractions are opening this summer. Learn more at
OutdoorNebraska.gov/ventureparks.
Don’t have a fishing permit or park entry permit – or know someone who doesn’t?
On May 19, you’re invited to come out and reel in a fish or visit a state park,
recreation area or historical park – no permit required. Nebraska Game and Parks
will also be celebrating the day with fun events for the whole family; see our
calendar for details.
May 19
Statewide
Statewide
From the eye-catching northern cardinal
to the melodious western meadowlark
and stately bald eagle, Nebraska is home
to more than 400 species of birds. Help
us celebrate them all at one of the many
statewide events honoring Nebraska
Bird Month, including birdwatching
walks and tours, family festivals and
educational sessions. Get details at
nebraskabirdmonth.org.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 29
Field Trial
Dogs
Masters of the Hunt
Story and photos by Mark Harris
T
wo wiry bird dogs sprint
crisscross patterns through frosted
brown Nebraska grasslands. Two
dog handlers follow distantly, doublebarreled shotguns cracked open over
their shoulders. Close behind them,
two judges bundled for the cold ride
horseback and observe.
Back at the starting point, dozens
of restless dogs sniff the air, their
olfactory systems flooded with a
magnitude of information we cannot
imagine. Their eagerness is palpable;
soon they will run and hunt, too, which
is their deepest desire.
The pointing breeds are here.
German shorthaired and wirehaired
pointers, setters, Brittanys, vizslas,
Weimaraners and a few others trained
to lock up at the smell of certain birds.
Far afield, one zigzagging dog
freezes in place. “Buster has one,”
proclaims the dog’s handler. Fifty
yards out, the speckled brown and
white German shorthaired pointer
stands unmoving on point, eyes locked
on an area of tall grass. The second
dog notices Buster and snaps to a stop.
She is far from Buster’s patch of grass
and cannot smell the hunkered-down
Master-level bird dogs set out to be judged by men on horseback near Humboldt. Professional dog trainers,
Ethan Pippitt, left, and Tate Martinsen annually travel the regional hunting test circuit, honing the skills of their clients’ dogs.
Tilly, a master-level German wirehaired pointer, waits her turn to hunt. In a hunting test
she will either pass or fail. In field trials her skills are judged against those of other dogs.
30 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
quail within, but she is trained not to
interfere. These dogs are masters.
Buster’s handler pulls a starting
gun from his pocket and slowly walks
the grass in front of Buster. The dull
staccato of a fleeing quail’s wings
breaks the silence and is followed by a
harmless pop from the starting gun. As
the bird flies free, Buster must not flinch
or move until commanded to heel at
his handler’s side. Later in the live-fire
area, quail will be shot and retrieved but
Buster never knows what will happen
next, intensifying the challenge of
perfect behavior. This is a hunting test
and the judges are taking notes.
Organized by local hunting dog clubs
and sanctioned by several national
organizations, the most prevalent being
the American Kennel Club, hunting
tests and field trials unfold every year
across the U.S. wherever game birds
live. Field trials are competitive, but in
a hunting test, the dog either meets the
standard or fails.
Separated by age and ability –
typically juniors, seniors and masters
– hunting tests are scored in six
categories: hunting, how appropriately
and efficiently the dog covers ground;
bird finding; pointing, intensity without
flinching is key; trainability, the
dog’s listening skills and obedience;
retrieving; and honoring, which is
to stand still when another dog is on
point.
Ethan Pippitt of Pretty Prairie,
Kansas, calls hunting tests “the
ultimate measure of a bird dog.”
Similar to many in the master class,
Pippitt is a professional trainer who
travels the national circuit with
clients’ dogs, striving to bring them
to the highest level. “Nowadays the
master level dogs are primarily run by
professionals,” he said. “Commonly
only half will pass.
“Training is about developing the
dog’s natural ability,” Pippitt said.
“Obedience is a huge part of the entry
work. Then I shape retrieving ability,
introducing dogs to birds and guns
before we ever hit the field. Pointing
comes naturally if the dog is developed
correctly. It’s largely bred in.”
Pippett often trains dogs in two
stages, training a juvenile for a few
months and then continuing the
following year with more finished
work. Some people may hand their
dog over for 10 total months, paying
thousands of dollars. “I get dogs from
Washington to Maine,” he said. “They
want their dogs to be proven.”
While hunting tests measure against
strict benchmarks, field trials evaluate
your dog in competition with others.
Judging criteria is similar – field
trial competitors must show a strong
desire to hunt, covering ground with
speed, boldness and intelligence. A
well-trained dog often looks back at
its handler for guidance. The subtler a
handler’s instructions the better; yelling
rates poorly. All but the puppies must
point. Intermediate dogs must stay on
point until the bird flushes, and highlevel dogs must remain motionless until
the gun is shot and then move only
when commanded to retrieve or heel.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 31
Bottom Left: Cowboy, a Deutsch-Drahthaar, warms up with a training dummy. Top Right: Faith, an English setter known for her stylish
points, signals the scent of a quail, top left, at the National Shoot to Retrieve Association’s field trial near Waverly.
Event campgrounds come alive as
field trial events begin. Dozens of dogs
emerge as handlers unload kennels
stacked in pickup beds and trailers.
Many spent the night here. Event
staffers begin planting disoriented
pen-raised quail in the fields, to be
replenished throughout the day.
Randomly paired, two dogs and
their handlers join the horse-mounted
judges at the field trial’s starting point.
Unleashed dogs hit the field like a
cannon shot. Often the hunters also ride
horses. Dismounting as they near the
pointing dog, one hunter holds the reins
while the other flushes and shoots.
These hunters are not in it for prize
winnings – there isn’t much to be won
unless you reach the national level. But
local and regional championships will
eventually pay off. Dogs with winning
32 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
titles have prestige and their puppies
bring top prices – one reason so many
send their dogs to professional trainers.
Jim Douglass of Columbus does it
the old fashioned way, training his own
dogs and competing in up to 18 field
trials per year. Saddling his horse at
dawn alongside six raucous, boogereyed English pointers, he gestures
to one dog and cautions, “You can
interact with any of these except that
one.”
Hunting is all that Douglass’ dogs
do and the veterans are superb. His
youngsters show promise, but not
much more ... a rabbit might be chased.
“The pups don’t have to do nothin’,”
Douglass said jokingly. “It’s all about
potential. A great dog will learn to look
where the birds more likely are. If there
is a tree line, the dog should hunt all of
it. If there are patches of thick cover,
they should hit every patch.”
Douglass, like many others, often
straps a GPS tracking collar onto his
less dependable dogs in case they run
off. “I once tracked a dog six miles in
the Sandhills after it took after a deer,”
he grinned. There is some danger
involved when dogs run this hard and
wide. Last year, one of Douglass’
5-year-olds died from a heart attack
while hunting. “These are high-strung
animals,” he said. “They run really
hard, and there is also the risk of
getting hit on the road or caught in a
trapper’s snare. I kiss my dogs on the
head each time they go out because I
may not see them again.”
The line between pet and bird
dog can be fuzzy and relationships
vary dramatically. Tate Martinsen,
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 33
Above: A hunting dog’s nose unlocks a sensory world we cannot imagine.
Opposite: The shotgun is just a prop in this portion of the hunting test. As the quail flee
and a starter pistol is fired, the dog must remain perfectly still.
a professional bird dog trainer from
Humbolt, South Dakota, allows his
six vizslas to live indoors with him
and his wife. “Some of them lie
on my lap,” he confessed. “It can
become a little chaotic, but if they
get too rambunctious I just kick them
into the yard. We have a kid coming
so we’ll have to start some sort of
rotation system.” The dogs’ emotional
attachment is sometimes evident if
they lose sight of Martinsen while
hunting. One of his best, Milo, used to
backtrack in near panic if he lost visual
contact, but then he adopted a quirky
method of checking back to spot his
master in deep cover – standing tall on
his hind legs like a kangaroo.
On the other end of the attachment
spectrum is Douglass. Asked if his
dogs ever come indoors, he replied,
“Oh no, no, no. They smell like hell.
You’d never get a woman in here!” He
added, “Some of the field trial dogs
don’t humanize real well. They just
want to hunt.”
Oversized lapdogs Martinsen’s may
be, in the field they transform to match
the desire of Douglass’ less civilized
dogs. Any decent hunting dog shows
intensity, but there is no comparing
Martinsen’s or Douglass’ animals
to your neighbor’s dog. One simple
difference is stamina. “These are highlevel athletes,” Douglass said. “In
34 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
championship rounds they run a solid
hour. During the off-season I exercise
them on backroads from horseback or
ATV.”
As a pheasant hunting guide,
Martinsen often notices the difference
between his expert dogs and those
more ordinary. “My dogs pay attention
while the other guys may have to shout
10 times to get theirs to respond,” he
said. “And most don’t retrieve as well,
dropping or playing with the bird,
needing prompts to bring it back.”
Sloppy retrievals are scored poorly by
Gene Larsen, a pointing dog judge from
Exira, Iowa. Larsen and his strawberry
roan horse, Cher, have been judging
so long that he doesn’t need to guide
her. “She just follows the dogs,” he
said. “I tell people that for these events
you need two things: a dog and a sense
of humor, because one day the dog is
gonna make a fool out of you. I once
saw a dog climb a tree to get a quail!”
Larsen receives no pay for judging,
only travel expenses. “I just like
getting outdoors, being with good
people and watching great dogs work.”
That is what most of these folks will
tell you. They are adrenaline-seeking
outdoorsmen and women with a love
of hunting birds and a penchant for
creating excellent canine hunting
partners.
These are bird dog lovers. ■
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 35
All Creatures
Great and Small
By Renae Blum
F
36 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
PHOTO BY RENAE BLUM
PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG
in Washington D.C. learn about the wildlife that
inhabited it.
It was an idea born out of necessity: the park
didn’t have the funds to pay for specialists to do a
survey. So Droege and Roddy concocted an event
that would lure specialists out on their own time,
coaxing them out of their offices with the promise
of unfettered exploration.
“Everyone gets to do what they loved when they
started out learning about biology, which is to go
out in the field and find stuff,” he said. “They’re
not constrained by following a prescribed protocol.”
Bioblitzes aren’t just fun for the professionals.
Go to one, and you’ll see kids happily tromping
through weeds and muck to find creeping and
crawling things, and adults whose eyes shine like a
child’s as they study new discoveries.
It goes back to the idea of exploration, said
environmental educator Deborah Anderson, who
helped organize a statewide series of Nebraska
bioblitzes in 2016. “We think of an explorer as
somebody who’s going into uncharted territory,
and that’s not true. You can explore your own
surroundings. The biodiversity that’s in Nebraska is
amazing, and I don’t think that everybody is aware
of that.”
Nebraska’s biodiversity was
on full display at Wildcat Hills State
Recreation Area’s first bioblitz last
July. Over the course of one Friday
night and Saturday morning, volunteers
identified about 140 species living in
the area’s rocky landscape, including
roughly 40 species of birds; 65 plant
species, with more than 40 species of
blooming wildflowers; and 30 species
of invertebrates (insects and spiders).
Among their findings were two bighorn
sheep, four little brown bats, two
American kestrels, a jumping spider and
an errant six-lined racerunner that made
its way into the nature center just as the
event started.
The event was structured, as many
bioblitzes are, into a series of sessions
led by natural history specialists, which
Participants in Indian Cave State Park’s first bioblitz in 2017 went on walks with
biologists to help identify as many species of living things in the park as possible.
participants can pick and choose to
or at least a few minutes, a surprised prairie
rattlesnake was a minor celebrity.
A circle of onlookers stared intently at it, snapping
cell phone pictures, as herpetologist Dan Fogell
quickly plopped a baseball cap onto the hissing
reptile.
“So he’s going to get comfortable,” Fogell said, explaining
for the crowd that snakes prefer to lay covered with
something touching their backs.
Thirty seconds later, he asked the crowd if they were
ready for him to take the hat off, and received a chorus of
enthusiastic yeses.
This wasn’t just a wildlife viewing opportunity; this snake,
as well as 105 other species observed that day, was recorded
by its admirers for science.
The event was a bioblitz, an event that has become
popular throughout the world and is taking off in Nebraska.
During a bioblitz, natural history specialists and, often,
members of the public, set out in a specific area with one
goal: to find and identify as many species of living things as
possible during a short period of time, usually 24 hours.
“It’s like a biologist’s party,” said Sam Droege. Droege
works for the U.S. Geological Survey, and together with
colleague Dan Roddy invented the idea of the bioblitz in
1996. Their aim was to help staff of a small urban park
Volunteers like Amber Schiltz (left), Alisha Heelan and Ariel McNare identified more than 200 species of plants, animals and insects
at the Chadron State Park Bioblitz last September. Bioblitzes have only started to take off in Nebraska in recent years.
attend as they wish: reptiles at 1 p.m., followed by trees,
then wildflowers, and so on. Along the way, participants get
to watch biologists at work and learn more about the wildlife
they study and the work they do.
Amber Schiltz, Nebraska wildlife education coordinator
for the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, has spearheaded
three bioblitzes in the Panhandle since 2016, including those
at Wildcat Hills. Several parents have told Schiltz that they
pulled their kids out of school for the afternoon so they
could attend a bioblitz (in light of this, she plans to change
future schedules so there’s no skipping school).
“Kids want to be scientists because of this,” Schiltz
said. “For me, it’s so exciting to hear these things, and to
know that these events that happen just once a year are that
influential to these kids.”
While bioblitzes are designed to be fun, real science is
involved. While a bioblitz cannot provide a full census
of everything living in a particular area, the data can
help identify thriving, disappearing or missing species;
document rare or unusual species; and provide fodder
for future research. And park staff walk away with a
better understanding of what’s flying, crawling, growing,
swimming and walking about on their grounds.
No matter how results are used, people are going to show
up, it seems.
This year will mark Chadron State Park’s third bioblitz,
and the venture has been a success for the park, said
superintendent Gregg Galbraith. “It just keeps getting bigger
and bigger, and as long as people are interested it’ll keep
growing,” he said. ■
Upcoming Bioblitzes
Homestead National Monument of America, May 19
Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area, July 20-21
Chadron State Park, Sept. 14-15
Indian Cave State Park, Sept. 21-22
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 37
The
Nebraska
Table
Native foods and
recipes from some
of the best
By Ryan Sparks
F
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
Nebraskans look forward to a variety of seasons, including
morel mushroom foraging in the spring.
38 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
garden planting season and
fishing season, just to name
a few. For those who care
to look for them, our state
presents a wealth of unique
flavors. By slowing down
and appreciating the natural
fruits of the land, you can
unearth local food and
discover new passions that
were hiding in plain sight.
These seasons and flavors
root us in the place we call home. Whether catching
a few fish for dinner or roaming the spring woods for
morels, exploring the seasons gives you a true taste of
Nebraska.
In this spirit, throughout the year NEBRASKAland
Magazine will highlight the ingredients and meals
of the Nebraska Table. We will examine the seasons
through the eyes of a forager, gardener, a hunter and
angler, and a chef as they share meals that represent
Nebraska’s food culture. Each segment will contain
recipes from Abigael Birrell, former executive chef at
Lincoln’s Hub Café and expert on Nebraska’s edible
landscape; Jane Sparks, a lifelong Nebraska gardener
and cook; Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley, an avid hunter and
author of the wild game blog Food For Hunters; as
well as Clayton Chapman, renowned chef and owner
of The Grey Plume in Omaha. Keep an eye out for the
recipes to come. They may lead to a new understanding
PHOTO BY RYAN SPARKS
rom the sweltering heat of summer to the still
and tranquil cold of winter, Nebraska’s seasons
are always in flux. Most Nebraskans think they
understand these seasons well. However, many
overlook activities and ingredients that extend beyond
the traditional division of spring, summer, fall and
winter.
Nebraskans can look forward to a variety of other
seasons – deer hunting season, morel foraging season,
Foraging expert
Abigael Birrell
shares her nettle
pesto recipe on page
40. Toss it with warm
pasta and top with
grated Parmesan
cheese.
of the good life you thought you already knew.
We begin this series with Abigael Birrell, a Midwest
native hailing from Kansas, who acquired a taste for wild
food at an early age. After graduating from the University
of Kansas, she attended culinary school in New York where
she became the head chef at NYC’s acclaimed Candle
Café. Birrell then took her culinary skills to New Zealand,
Australia and Washington where she gained an appreciation
of farming and community-based food culture before taking
over as executive chef at Lincoln’s Hub Café.
After moving to Lincoln, Birrell acclimated to Nebraska’s
edible landscape, learning the native wild foods in the area.
“To me, eating local means not just eating food that
was grown here but also learning about and sourcing the
ingredients that belong here,” she wrote in one of her frequent
contributions to Edible Omaha. Birrell is passionate about
experiencing Nebraska through foraging. From our interview,
I was excited to learn what wild edibles Nebraska has to offer.
Tell me about yourself. How did you first get
interested in wild foods and foraging?
I was fortunate to grow up with 180 acres of native
Kansas prairie as my backyard. My mother has always
worked in environmental education and is currently the
director of Prairie Park Nature Center in Lawrence, so we
spent a lot of time taking long walks in the woods and
prairie. We’d look for mulberries, puffballs, spring onions
and tiny wild strawberries while she’d quiz me on the names
of the plants and trees we passed.
I have an early memory of her quoting the Ursula K.
Le Guin novel A Wizard of Earthsea while we were out
walking. There is a passage where the elder wizard is
explaining to the young hero that he will never really know
a plant until he knows it in all its seasons – root, leaf and
flower by sight, scent and seed. That idea really stuck with
me.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 39
Are
A
re there
t
ways to preserve what you forage? If so,
what
h are some year-round staples in your larder?
what
A dehydrator
de
is a wonderful tool to help preserve the
bbounty
bo
oun
unty of your foraging. I usually dry a few bunches of
nnettles
ne
net
ett
ttle
les
e to mix into herbal tea blends. If you are lucky
eenough
en
noouug
ugh to find a bumper crop of morels, the dehydrator
ccomes
come
co
ome
mes in handy for preserving them. I’ve also made jams
and sh
and
an
shrubs out of mulberries that I’ve collected. Shrubs
are a type of drinking vinegar that was popular in colonial
are
ar
A
America
me
and is currently experiencing renewed popularity.
Im
make a syrup with apple cider vinegar, sugar and
m
mulberries and add it to sparkling water or cocktails.
Later on, when I became a chef, that early experience
of hunting for wild foods formed the basis for the kind of
ingredient-driven cooking that I do.
Why should someone learn to forage?
It feels like a superpower to be able to look at the
landscape around you and find delicious food. The act of
foraging requires slowing down and paying attention to the
details of life around us. It can start a process of seeing the
landscape you thought you knew with fresh eyes.
A simple walk in the park will turn into an adventure
as you start to become familiar with the wealth of tasty
weeds, berries, flowers and trees that we are unwittingly
surrounded by.
What are some wild foods in Nebraska that most
people overlook or don’t know about?
I sing the praises and possibilities of nettles to anyone
that will listen. They are one of my favorite foraged foods
and one that is abundant all over Nebraska. The multitude
of uses for nettles never ceases to amaze me. Cook it like
spinach, make it into pesto, dry it into nutritious tea, steep
it in water to make a powerful fertilizer for your garden.
Purslane is another favorite green of mine as well. It is full
of omega-3 fatty acids and makes a delicious addition to
mixed green salads.
Is it possible to forage year-round?
Nebraska has three great seasons of foraging
possibilities. The spring brings morels, wild asparagus
and nettles; summer has mulberries, wild plums, walnuts,
purslane and milkweed; and the autumn has puffballs,
oyster mushrooms and chicken of the woods (wild
mushrooms).
In the depths of the cold Nebraska winter, the best thing
to do is to enjoy your well-stocked larder, full of the fruits
of your earlier foraging.
40 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
Below is Birrell’s recipe for foraged nettle pesto as well
as the spring recipes of the other contributors – Jane Sparks,
Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley and Clayton Chapman – who we
will highlight in future issues. Be sure to pick extra nettles
and hang them in a dark, dry place or use a dehydrator to
preserve them for Birrell’s nettle tea next winter.
Foraged Nettle Pesto
Yield: 4 cups
6 cups fresh nettles
1
⁄3 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts
1
⁄2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1
⁄2 cup roasted garlic
2 to 3 lemons, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste
11⁄2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil.
Using tongs, submerge nettles for 1 to 3 minutes,
depending on size and age of nettles, to remove the sting.
Larger and older leaves should be cooked 2 to 3 minutes
longer. Remove and plunge into a bowl of ice water for
1 to 2 minutes. Remove the nettles from the ice bath and
squeeze out the excess liquid.
Place all ingredients except olive
oil in a food processor and blend.
Slowly add oil in a steady stream until
emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Nettle pesto will keep for two weeks in
the refrigerator or up to six months in
the freezer.
– Abigael Birrell
Dakota Harvest Lamb Saddle
with Spring Peas, Nebraska
Ramps, and Breakfast Radish
The saddle is my favorite part of the lamb. It is
traditionally the cut from the back of the eighth rib all
the way to the hind leg and consists of the loin and the
tenderloin. This recipe includes both cuts, but also includes
the rack. If you would like to substitute out just the rack or
PHOTO BY RYAN SPARKS
Nettles – the general term used to describe about 40 plants
from the Urtica genus – are readily found in spring and
summer markets yet remain on many people’s “to avoid” list.
There is, of course, the “stinging” descriptor, and that tends to
elicit fear in the minds of many home cooks.
just the loin for this recipe, please feel free to do so. Ramps
are a wild spring onion that grow near water in damp forest
areas. They are my absolute favorite ingredient in the world
to work with.
Dakota Harvest Lamb
Yield: 4 servings
12 ounces lamb loin, removed from saddle bones
6 ounces lamb tenderloin, removed from saddle bones
4 lamb chops
1
⁄8 ounce whole fresh rosemary or about a 1- to 2-inch
whole sprig
1 ounce neutral cooking oil
3 ounces whole unsalted butter
Kosher salt to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Season all of the lamb meat
generously with kosher salt and black pepper. In a sauté
or cast iron pan, add the rosemary and sear the lamb on
medium heat until golden brown. You may have to brown
the meat in stages because of the size of your pan. The
process should take about 2 minutes per side and about a
minute or less for the tenderloin.
Once the meat has a nice crust, place meat on a sheet tray
and brush with 2 ounces of the unsalted butter and place the
rosemary on top. Roast the cuts of lamb until the internal
temperature reaches about 138 degrees, which should only
take between 5-8 minutes in the oven. You want the final
temperature to be about 140-142 degrees before you eat.
Pulling the lamb at 138 degrees allows the meat to rest and
carryover cook the remaining degrees needed. Once cooked,
keep warm until ready to serve.
Vegetables
11⁄2 cups spring peas, blanched
12 ramps, split between the bulb and the leaf
8 breakfast radishes, quartered
1 whole garlic clove, skin on
1 ounce neutral cooking oil
3 ounces whole unsalted butter
½ ounce water
1 ounce George Paul red oak vinegar (Nebraska
produced)
1
⁄4 cup fresh chives, minced
Kosher salt to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
In a medium sauté pan, add the neutral cooking oil.
Heat to medium and add the garlic clove and ramp bulbs
along with the breakfast radish. Sauté the vegetables until
they have a little bit of golden color. Add the butter and
allow it to foam, which usually takes a
minute. Add the peas, season to taste
with salt and pepper. Add 1⁄2 ounce of
water and continue to cook until the
water evaporates by half. Add the ramp
leaves followed by the vinegar and chives.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
– Clayton Chapman
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 41
Yield: 6 servings
2 pounds freshly ground wild turkey (leg, thigh
and/or breast meat)
Oil for sautéing
10 ounces of fresh and young pheasant back/dryad’s
saddle mushroom
1 small onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk of celery, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1
⁄3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1
⁄2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
11⁄2 cups ketchup
1
⁄3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Hot sauce, to taste
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With the back of a
knife, scrape off the pores underneath the pheasant back
42 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
mushroom(s), cut off the stem if it’s hard, and then finely
dice mushrooms. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of
oil over medium-high. Once hot, sauté mushrooms until
the pieces have given up most of their moisture and turned
slightly golden but still feel tender, about 10 minutes. Add
a pinch of salt and chopped thyme leaves toward the end.
Transfer mushrooms to a large bowl and set aside.
Coat the same pan with more oil. This time, add the
onion, carrot and celery and a pinch of salt. Sauté vegetables
until onion softens, about 5-7 minutes. Then add garlic,
Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste, and then sauté for
another 30 seconds. Transfer vegetables to the bowl with the
mushrooms and allow mixture to cool.
Once vegetables and mushrooms have cooled, add ground
turkey, parsley, breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon of salt, cheese and
ground black pepper to the bowl. Combine with your hands.
Spray a standard 9-by-5 loaf pan with cooking spray. Evenly
spread turkey mixture into the pan. In a small bowl, combine
ketchup, brown sugar and dry mustard. Spread a layer on top
of the turkey meatloaf, reserving the rest for serving. Bake
in a 350-degree oven for 1 hour, or until internal temperature
reaches 160 degrees. Allow meatloaf to
rest for 15 minutes before slicing and
serving with leftover sauce on the side.
This meatloaf can be made a day ahead
and reheated; it is easier to slice when
chilled.
– Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
PHOTO BY RYAN SPARKS
PHOTO BY JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY
Pheasant Back Mushroom and
Wild Turkey Meatloaf
Spring Garden Salad
Spinach, radishes, peas, and green onions are often the
first garden vegetables in spring. This salad has all the
vibrancy of spring with a bit of winter’s hardiness.
Salad
Yield: Per person
2 cups spinach
2 small radishes, sliced
Green onion, sliced thinly for garnish
¼ cup blanched garden peas
1 slice cooked and crumbled bacon
1 7-minute boiled egg, sliced
•
•
•
•
•
•
Vinaigrette
Yield: 11⁄3 cups
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
•
•
of salt and black pepper
• Pinch
Juice
of
1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons
white wine vinegar
• 1¼ cups extra-virgin
olive oil
•
You can complete this step in a food processor or by
hand. To make the vinaigrette, combine garlic, mustard, salt,
pepper, lemon juice and vinegar. As you mix, slowly add the
olive oil until you get an emulsion. Once all the oil is added,
check the dressing for taste. This dressing keeps very well in
the fridge.
To assemble the salad, mix the spinach,
radishes, peas and bacon in a large mixing
bowl. Slowly pour the vinaigrette over the
salad until coated. Plate each portion and
top with egg slices and green onion.
– Jane Sparks, author’s grandmother
See the author’s additional Morel Risotto recipe by visiting
magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/digital.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 43
By Gerry Steinauer, Botanist
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
O
ne July evening two years ago,
I picked a paper bag full of ripe
alkali milkvetch seedpods from
a prairie on our southeastern South
Dakota farm and then placed them on a
table in our enclosed front porch. The
seeds would be sown into a prairie
restoration that winter.
The next morning when I came
downstairs the house reeked with a
pungent, garlicky, sulphurous odor. Not
good. When my wife came downstairs
her face took on “the look.”
“What is that smell?” she demanded.
“I don’t know,” I responded with
presumed innocence.
Minutes later, a thought hit me. I
quietly opened the porch door. “Dang!”
Shutting the door behind me, I went
to the table and stuck my nose into the
bag of pods. My senses swooned from
the scent of selenium.
PHOTO BY GERRY STEINAUER
Alkali milkvetch in fruit in a prairie on the
author’s South Dakota farm. Uncommon
among Great Plains milkvetches, the
pods are triangular in cross-section and
hang in pendulous clusters.
44 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
An Obligate
Selenophile
Belonging to the pea family, alkali
milkvetch (Astragalus racemosus)
ranges over the western Great Plains
from Saskatchewan to Texas, typically
growing on clay, shale, gypsum,
chalk or sand soils rich in selenium.
In Nebraska, the plant has a patchy
distribution, occurring along the lower
Niobrara and Missouri rivers in the
northeast, the Republican River in
the southwest and in the northwestern
Panhandle. Here, it grows in dry
prairies, primarily on outcroppings of
Pierre Shale. The grayish-black shale,
formed from muds deposited in marine
waters 70 to 80 million ago, weathers
to a sticky clay rich in selenium.
Alkali milkvetch is among a small
group of plants known as “selenium
hyperaccumulators” or more poetically
“obligate selenophiles” that grow
almost exclusively on seleniferous
soils. These plants contain compounds
that confer selenium resistance,
allowing them to accumulate the
element into their tissues. Alkali
milkvetch, for example, contains up
to 15,000 parts per million (ppm) of
selenium. Nebraska’s other obligate
selenophiles are princesplume
(Stanleya pinnata) and two-grooved
milkvetch (A. bisulcatus). Not
surprisingly, they also grow mainly on
Pierre Shale.
Some sunflowers, asters and
mustards growing on seleniferous soils
can accumulate up to 50 to 100 ppm
of the element, while some forage
grasses and crops can accumulate up
to 20 ppm. Most plant species cannot
grow on these soils, while some exhibit
stunted growth.
Selenium is physically and
chemically similar to sulphur, thus
the sulphurous odor. It is an essential
micronutrient for animals, necessary
for DNA production, the immune
system and other functions, but is toxic
at higher levels. Plants are the main
source of selenium in animal diets.
Though not essential for plants, in some
species selenium, at low doses, protects
against stresses such as cold, drought
and exposure to toxic metals in the soil.
Selenophiles concentrate selenium
in their sensitive young leaves
and flowers as protection against
herbivores, such as grasshoppers,
prairie dogs and livestock; though
generally avoided by livestock, starving
animals forced to feed on the plants
suffer from selenium poisoning. After
flowering, the selenophiles transfer
the element from their withering
blooms and leaves to their seeds –
protecting them and young seedlings
from herbivory. The plants, including
the seeds, vaporize selenium as
dimethyldiselenide (the stench in
our house) perhaps as a warning to
potential grazers.
Amazingly, a few insects have
evolved a selenium resistance and feed
on selenophiles. The larvae of a seed
PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG
and its strange, mysterious scent
PHOTO BY GERRY STEINAUER
Alkali Milkvetch
Alkali milkvetch in flower on a prairie hillside near Sugar Loaf Butte in Sioux County.
beetle and a seed chalcid wasp, for
example, eat the seeds (as they develop
within the pods) of two-grooved
milkvetch and princesplume with no
apparent ill affect. In a seleniferous area
of Colorado, a species of diamondback
moth was recently discovered that lays
its eggs on and “voraciously feeds” on
princesplume leaves.
Since the distressing experience in
our house, I have come to appreciate
the odor of alkali milkvetch. When
near plants in open prairie, I find their
smell light and pleasant, not pungent.
A whiff of selenium also reminds me
of the plant’s ingenuity – the ability to
accumulate a toxin to protect against
the hazards of nature.
By the way, now when collecting
alkali milkvetch seedpods, I store them
in the shed. ■
Alkali Disease
In his book Dakota Flora – A Seasonal Sampler, South
Dakota botanist Dave Ode relates the following story
of how scientists unravelled the mystery of selenium
poisoning in livestock.
In the late summer of 1856, several cavalry companies
arrived at the newly established Fort Randall on the
Missouri River in Gregory County, South Dakota (located
about 15 miles west of our present day farm). Over the
next few months, many of their horses became ill, some
died; symptoms included loss of hair from their manes,
hoof sloughing and swelling of the throat and jaw. From
this incident, the Fort’s medical doctor T.C. Madison
wrote the first clinical description of a type of selenium
poisoning which later became known as alkali disease.
During the late 1800s, ranchers and farmers in central
South Dakota and a few other areas of the state
continued to lose livestock to the disease; they
blamed alkali water – thus the name “alkali disease.”
Researchers at South Dakota State College spent years
proving that alkali water was not the culprit, but they still
could not pinpoint the cause of the disease. With the
onset of the severe drought of the early 1930s, grass
forage became limited and livestock were forced to
consume selenium-accumulating plants. The disease
worsened. Finally in 1934, scientists determined that
selenium poisoning was the cause of alkali disease
and another livestock disease known as the blind
staggers, where afflicted animals walk with an unsteady,
staggering gait, often running into objects and appearing
blind.
Acute selenium poisoning in livestock from eating alkali
milkvetch and other obligate selenophiles is uncommon
because the plants are so unpalatable. Chronic selenium
poisoning of the alkali disease type results from animals
ingesting grasses and other plants containing moderate
levels of the element.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 45
The Blues and
the Nemahas
Story and photos by Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
In 2002, the Game and Parks Commission conducted a survey to find
out more about Nebraska’s river anglers. Fishing in the Missouri and
Platte rivers predictably scored high, but the survey also showed that
angling opportunities in smaller rivers and streams should not be
dismissed.
C
“Rivers are so dynamic, always going up and down, and fish
populations follow those trends,” said Fisheries Biologist Tony
Barada. In drought years, the Blue and Nemaha rivers can
experience water depletion. When that happens, fish are forced
to move downstream; fish that don’t make those movements die.
When bigger rain events occur, the fish recolonize.
46 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
hannel catfish are the third most preferred fish
in Nebraska, following walleye and largemouth
bass. While the majority of catfish are taken out of
the Missouri and Platte rivers in southeastern Nebraska,
a 2002 angler survey showed that river anglers are also
looking for catfish in lesser known streams. In fact, 40
percent of southeastern Nebraska anglers fished in rivers
and streams other than the Missouri and Platte rivers when
targeting catfish.
The four largest interior rivers in southeastern Nebraska
are the Little Blue, Big Blue, Little Nemaha and Big
Nemaha. These rivers have long been popular among
catfish anglers. However, little is known about the current
state of fisheries in these river systems.
Because of the high demand of lake and reservoir
fishing, the management of southeastern Nebraska streams
has not been a priority, said Tony Barada, a fisheries
biologist in the southeast district. He and Fisheries
Biologist Aaron Blank set out to change that in 2013,
when they began a 4-year project to learn as much as
they possibly could about the Blue and the Nemaha river
systems. Not only was the goal to monitor and index
catfish populations, but also to learn more about the
overall fish community in all four rivers, both native and
invasive.
“We know people are fishing in these areas, and we
know they’re important locally,” said Barada, “but we
don’t have much data on our catfish populations. The
Nemahas are also directly connected to the Missouri
River, which is a hotbed for aquatic invasive species.
We need to figure out what is going on in these river
systems.”
Southeastern Nebraska fisheries biologists indexed catfish populations in the Big Nemaha, Little Nemaha, Big Blue and Little Blue
rivers from 2013 through 2016. Catfish were marked with T-bar anchor tags. The Commission encourages anglers to report tagged
fish. This information will help biologists understand catfish movement and migration.
Sportfish Dollars
As a sportfish with dedicated funding from permit dollars
and excise taxes on fishing equipment, the channel catfish
was the number one species to index. But with the way
conservation usually works, what’s good for one species is
usually beneficial for many others.
“There is so much more happening in these rivers.
Sampling is intensive work, so since we were there, we
wanted to collect as much data as we could,” Barada said.
“And even in the four years we did this sampling, we still
wished we could’ve collected more data.”
Sampling occurred at six locations on the Big Blue River,
five in the Little Blue, four in the Big Nemaha and five
in the Little Nemaha – all dependent on where there was
suitable access and permission from landowners. Barada
and Blank’s team set out baited hoop nets and also used
electrofishing at each site. Each captured catfish was run
through the gamut: They were measured for length and
weight, and one pectoral spine was removed from each fish
for age and growth analysis – cross sections of these spines
can be observed under a microscope to approximate a
fish’s age.
Each catfish was also tagged. To piggyback on a 10-year
Missouri River catfish study conducted by the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, Barada wants to find out how these fish are
moving by comparing where these fish were tagged to where
they may be caught by other research groups or anglers, since
all catfish can be migratory. However, out of the nearly 1,000
tags Barada’s team has put out, they’ve only had about 10
calls from anglers. He encourages more anglers to call back.
“Either anglers aren’t seeing the tag, they just don’t report
it or not many of these fish are being caught. But the people
who do report the tags are really intrigued,” Barada said.
“These fish can travel considerable distances compared to
fish that sit in a reservoir. We tagged some near Fairbury
on the Little Blue River, and a man caught one by Hebron
during a high water event. It’s kind of cool to have these
conversations with our river anglers.”
Catfish populations in the Blues and Nemahas are doing
“fairly well.” “I think our rivers are overlooked as far as
opportunities for catching catfish in our state, especially in
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 47
to be respectful of their property.
“It would be nice to get more public access, but that’s
difficult. It takes money,” Barada said.
The Open Fields and Waters Program (OFW) has been
beneficial in providing additional angling access on certain
stretches of these rivers, but these areas are under contract
and may change on an annual basis. Check the latest
Nebraska Public Access Atlas for the most up-to-date
information on WMAs and OFW properties.
Therefore, a cascading effect could be felt.”
Fortunately, Barada and his crew did not find any zebra
mussels in the Nemahas. Unfortunately, these mussels are
projected to arrive from the Missouri, because of the freeflowing connection, at some point.
Habitat and Water Issues
One thing that did surprise Barada and Blank was seeing
how degraded the habitats were along these rivers: water
quality, quantity and bank erosion are major concerns.
According to the Nebraska Department of Environmental
Other captured fish species were identified, measured and
Quality, the Blue and Nemaha watersheds are some of the
counted, including natives such as longnose gar, shortnose
most impaired in the state. This poor water quality is highly
gar and shovelnose sturgeon in the Big Nemaha River.
correlated with the amount of row crop agriculture – and
However, because the Nemahas are undammed, they do
potential for runoff – in the area.
have more issues with aquatic invasive species moving up
In addition to water quality issues, some of these rivers,
from the Missouri. Invasive species such as silver, bighead,
specifically the Little Blue River and the Big Nemaha
grass, and common carp were found in both Nemaha rivers.
River, can experience major water quantity issues as well.
The verdict is still out on how these invasive carp species
Reestablishment of catfish populations will occur in time
will affect the river’s aquatic communities. Barada and
when sufficient water returns to the system, but negative
Blank did not sample any juvenile bighead or silver carp,
impacts to catfish and the entire aquatic community are
which is promising, suggesting that the fish might not be
obviously experienced under extremely low or dry river
spawning in these smaller streams.
conditions.
“There are so many unknowns with invasives,” Barada
Still, despite these impairments, Barada believes that the
said. “They can compete with native filter feeders, and they
recreational opportunities that these rivers systems provide
are considerable. Catfish are hardy fish, tolerant of stressful
can take up a significant amount of biomass in a system. I
conditions.
don’t think they’ll directly compete with channel catfish or
“We can now paint a picture of most of what is going on
flatheads, but they may impact other native species such as
in these rivers. We have major habitat and water quality
chubs, minnows and buffalos.
issues throughout our district, but then
we still have good opportunities in
these kind of degraded systems for
North B
ran
anglers targeting catfish and other
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riverine species,” Barada said.
Some issues can be helped while
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being done: Most Natural Resource
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MAP BY TRISHA SCHLAKE, GIS APPLICATIONS DEVELOPER
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A fisherman who goes out with a little bit of knowledge
about river fishing should be successful. Most of the river
anglers Barada has bumped into do fairly well. River fishing
is different because anglers have to learn how to read the
river, and the way a river looks can change depending on the
season and/or year, and whether the water is high or low that
given year. This can be intimidating to a novice, so Barada
suggests fishing in the summer when the water is low.
“Some of the most fun fishing I’ve had is going out
to Little Blue East Wildlife Management Area in the
summertime – there’s a couple-mile stretch of river – and
wading the river and fishing individual holes. When the river
gets low, fish have to seek refuge in certain areas. Find some
woody debris or snags in the river. All you need is kneedeep water, and you can flip your night crawler in there and
be really successful,” Barada said.
But as decent as the fishing can be, public access remains
a challenge. While access on the Little Blue River is
satisfactory, access to the other three river systems is spotty,
mostly in the form of city parks and turnoffs. Landowners
may be willing to give permission to fishermen, but be sure
e
48 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
Fishing and Access
l
Litt
the southeast. We have many reservoirs that we stock every
year or every three years, but our river systems are really
productive. They’re self-sustaining populations that naturally
reproduce,” Barada said.
Although there is potential for larger catfish (including
large flathead and blue catfish) to migrate up the Nemahas
from the Missouri River, Barada observed that these smaller
river systems are producing higher densities of “eater-size
fish” in the 8- to 14-inch range. And for the most part,
sampling showed both higher densities of catfish and native
fish communities in the Nemahas than the Blues. Barada
speculates that this difference is due to fragmentation;
migration in the Blues is much more difficult for fish due to
dams, whereas the Nemahas have remained completely free
flowing, aside from a few natural waterfalls.
“Past studies have shown that our Nemahas act as nursing
grounds for the Missouri River, and we saw evidence of
this in the abundance of smaller catfish,” said Barada. “The
Blues, which eventually connect and flow in to Tuttle Creek
Reservoir near Manhattan, Kansas, are more dissected and
fragmented by low-head dams, so they’ve been isolated from
the big river. Fish can only migrate during really high water
events, so I think the populations suffer because of that.”
g
Barada set out hoop nets baited with rotten cheese to sample fish in the Big Nemaha River by Tecumseh.
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The Little Blue, Big
Blue, Little Nemaha
and Big Nemaha
are the largest
interior rivers in
southeastern
Nebraska.
emaha R
iver
Margrave WMA
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 49
RVs at State Park Areas
Eugene T. Mahoney SP (Cass) –
Two campgrounds offer 149 camping
pads with 30-amp electrical hookups.
Some spots also offer 50-amp service
and 7 offer water and sewer service.
Drinking water and modern showers
and latrines are available at both
campsites. The park also offers a coinoperated laundry and dump station.
Be surprised by how many places recreational vehicles have to go.
By Margot DesRocher
Alexandria State Recreation Area
(Jefferson C
County) – 40 sites with
30-amp electrical hookup, 5 sites with
50-amp electrical hookup and 8 sites
without electricity. The campground
offers water, modern restrooms, a
playground and dump station.
Calamus Reservoir SRA (Loup,
Garfield) – 132 pad sites wi
with 30- and
50-amp electrical hookups spread over
three different campgrounds. Shower
houses are available at Homestead
Knolls, Nunda Shoal and Valley View
Flat campgrounds. All three areas offer
mature shade trees, water and modern
restrooms, and each area is within
walking distance of the lake. A dump
station is available at Little York Point.
Additionally, RV and camper camping
is permitted in the parking lots of the
Valley View Flat and Hannaman Bayou
campgrounds in designated spots.
PHOTO BY JON FARRAR
Box Butte Reservoir SRA (Dawes)
– 14 camping pads with 30- and
50-amp electrical hookups. The park
also has water and vault toilets.
Branched Oak SRA (Lancaster)
– 305 camping pads with 30- and
50-amp electrical hookups, as well as
28 camping pads without electricity.
The area includes 15 electrical sites for
those camping with their horses.
The lake has five shower houses,
modern restrooms, dump stations and
playground equipment.
Chadron State Park (Dawes) – 70
camping pads with 30-amp electrical
hookups, as well as 18 primitive
sites. Amenities for campers include
showers, a dump station, laundry,
picnic tables, grills and a playground.
Matt DeFreese holds his daughter, Darbie,
as he cooks a hot dog over a fire at
Mormon Island SRA in Hall County.
Conestoga Lake SRA (Lancaster)
– 25 camping pads with 30- and
50-amp electrical hookups, as well as
8 camping pads without electricity.
Water, vault toilets and a dump station
are available.
Danish Alps SRA (Dakota) – 34
gravel pads with electrical hookups and
2 cement pads with electric
electrical hookups,
as well as 7 gravel pull-through pads
with electrical hookups and one ADA
cement pull-through pad with electrical
hookups. All electrical campsites have
30- and 50-amp hookups.
Additionally, Danish Alps offers an
equestrian campground with 26 gravel
pads with electrical hookups and three
ADA cement pads with electrical
hookups. There are also 22 tent
camping sites. Campers have access to
water, modern restrooms and showers.
Dead Timber SRA (Dodge) – 17
electrical spots with 30-amp hookups.
Water and vault toilets are available.
There is no dump station on site.
Enders Reservoir SRA (Chase) –
42 camping pad sites with 30- and
50-amp service at each site. Showers,
modern restrooms, water, grills, picnic
tables and shelters, a fish cleaning
station and dump station are available.
Campers enjoy a lakeside view of the sunset at Merritt SRA in Cherry County.
50 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
Fort Kearny SRA (Buffalo,
Kearney) – 94 camping pads with
electrical hookups. Of these, 28
are 50-30 amp and 66 are 30 amp.
Additionally, 26 camping pads are
available without electricity.
There are showers and modern
restrooms, plus a trailer dump station.
Stately cottonwood trees, some more
than 100 years old, shade much of the
camping area.
Fort Robinson SP (Dawes, Sioux)
– Three campgrounds cater to a wide
range of styles, each offering sites
suitable for RVs and a majority with
ample shade. They are the Red Cloud
Campground with full hookups, the
Soldier Creek Campground with a
wide variety of sites ranging from pads
with electricity to primitive tent sites,
and the Equestrian Campground, with
electricity and conveniently located
near stalls for boarding horses.
The park also offers group camping.
In all, there are 100 pads with both
50-amp and 30-amp sites available.
Modern restrooms, laundry, showers,
water, a dump station, picnic tables and
shelters are all on site.
Fremont Lakes SRA (Dodge) –
190 hard-surfaced pads with 30-amp
electrical hookups, as well as 12
non-pad sites with electrical hookups.
The campground is situated among
mature shade trees. Showers, modern
restrooms, water and two dump stations
are available.
Indian Cave SP (Nemaha,
Nemaha,
Richardson) – 134 units with 30-amp
electrical hookups (22 of which also
have 50-amp capability). Showers,
modern restrooms, a laundry facility
and a dump station, as well as picnic
tables and grills, are available for RV
guests.
David Beasley sits in front of his RV at a lakeside campground at Alexandria SRA in
Jefferson County.
Johnson Lake SRA (Gosper) –
113 pad sites with 30- and 50-amp
electrical hookups. Modern restrooms,
a dump station and shower house are
available. Reservations are accepted.
Keller Park SRA (Brown) – 25
camping pads with 30-amp electrical
hookups, as well as 10 non-pad sites
without electricity. Restrooms, a dump
station and water are available.
Lake McConaughy SRA (Keith) –
Three modern campgrounds with more
than 208 pad sites with 30- and 50-amp
electrical hookups and 30 full-hookup
sites, with more becoming available
throughout 2018. Also available are
coin-operated shower facilities, modern
restrooms and two dump stations.
Lake Ogallala SRA (Keith) – 82
camping pads with 30- and 50-amp
electrical hookups. Primitive camping
is available on the west side of Lake
Ogallala at several areas. Water and
primitive restrooms are available.
Lake Wanahoo SRA (Saunders) –
24 grass pads with 50-amp electrical
hookups, 50 gravel pads with electrical
hookups and 60 tent camping sites
without electricity.
A playground is located on the
west side of the park in the electrical
campground. Modern restrooms are
available, as are coin-operated showers.
Lewis and Clark Lake SRA (Knox)
– More than 150 electrical sites with
30- and 50-amp electrical hookups and
more than 100 primitive campsites.
Campgrounds include showers, picnic
tables, fire pits, nearby water spigots
(not hookups), dump stations and a
playground. Camping is available
year-round, however modern facilities
operate from April-October, weather
permitting.
An equestrian camping area with
corrals is also located in the south
shore area. Water is available but there
is no electricity.
Louisville SRA (Cass) – 223
camping pads with 30- and 50-amp
electrical hookups. Newly upgraded
camping facilities include showers
and restrooms. Campers also have
access to water, a dump station and a
playground.
Lake Maloney SRA (Lincoln) – 56
pads with 50-amp hookups for lakeside
camping. Coin-operated showers, dump
stations, water, two boat ramps and
vault toilets are on site.
Medicine Creek SRA (Frontier) –
72 camping pads with 30- and 50-amp
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 51
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
M
Buffalo Bill Ranch SRA (Lincoln)
– 23 camping pads with electrical
hookups. Of these, 18 sites have
30-amp hookups and 5 sites have
50-amp hookups. Vault toilets are
available. There are water hydrants
throughout the campground.
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
any Game and Parks
attractions have sites catering
to recreational vehicle users
during their outdoor pursuits.
Here is a list of some of
the best places for RV recreational
opportunities in Nebraska.
electrical hookups. All campers have
access to modern restrooms, showers,
a dump station, vault toilets and nearby
concessions.
Merritt Reservoir SRA (Cherry) –
Offers numerous camping options over
several campgrounds. There are 38 sites
with 30- and 50-amp electrical hookups
and 18 standard sites without electricity
in Cedar Bay Campground; 21 electrical
sites with 50-amp hookups in Willow
Cove; 10 electrical sites with 50-amp
hookups in West Beeds; 10 electrical
sites with 50-amp hookups in Beeds and
10 electrical sites with 50-amp hookups
in Boardman.
Water, modern restrooms and showers
are available to campers, and there
is a dump station on site. Additional
camping spots are available at the
Merritt Trading Post.
Lake Minatare SRA (Scotts
Bluff) – The modern Lakeview Point
Campground, located near the iconic
lighthouse, has 52 gravel pads with
30-amp electrical hookups, modern
restrooms and showers. Butte View
Campground has 49 sites with 50-amp
electricity.
Mormon Island SRA (Hall) – 34
camping pads with 30- and 50-amp
electrical hookups are available, with
access to showers, a dump station and
laundry.
Niobrara SP (Knox) – 76 camping
pads with 30- and 50-amp electrical
hookups. Drinking water, modern
restrooms, coin-operated showers,
dump station, picnic tables and grills
are included in the RV areas. Wi-Fi
is available at the modern shower
facility.
Pawnee Lake SRA (Lancaster) –
68 camping pads with 30- and 50-amp
electrical hookups, as well as 34
camping pads without electricity and
97 non-pad sites without electricity.
The campground offers water, showers,
modern restrooms and mature shade
trees. A dump station is available at the
area.
Red Willow Reservoir SRA
(Frontier) – 48 camping pads with
30 and 50-amp electrical hookups
are available, as is access to showers
and a dump station. Willow View
Campground also offers a panoramic
view of the lake.
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
Riverview Marina SRA (Otoe) –
Campers at Riverview Marina State
Recreation Area have a choice of pad
sites with electricity or more primitive
non-pad sites. The area offers 24
camping pads with 30-amp electrical
hookups, as well as 50 non-pad sites
without electricity. The area has modern
restroom facilities with showers.
Nebraska’s state park system visitors are encouraged to bring their dogs, as David
and Anita Cass of Lincoln did with their pet at Two Rivers SRA in Douglas County.
52 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
Rock Creek Station SRA
(Jefferson) – 25 camping pads with
30-amp electrical hookups. The
campground has a modern shower and
restroom building for those who are
registered to camp. Water and a dump
station are available.
Rockford Lake SRA (Gage) – A
shaded campsite offers 30 camping pads
with 30- and 50-amp electrical hookups,
as well as 2 camping pads without
electricity and 40 non-pad sites without
electricity. Water and vault toilets
are available, but showers, modern
restrooms and a dump station are not.
Stagecoach Lake SRA (Lancaster)
– 30 camping pads with 30- and 50-amp
electrical hookups, as well as 50 nonpad sites without electricity. Water and
vault toilets are available.
Summit Lake SRA (Burt) – 13 nonelectrical pad sites and 30 electrical pad
sites. Water, vault toilets, shower house
and a dump station are available.
Swanson Reservoir SRA
(Hitchcock) – 67 camping pads with
30- and 50-amp electrical hookups
spread over two campgrounds – 17
are at Macklin and 47 are located at
Spring Canyon Campground. Both offer
modern restrooms and showers. Two
dump stations are on site.
Two Rivers SRA (Douglas) – 143
camping pads with 30- and/or 50-amp
electrical hookups (12 pads have water
hookups), as well as 64 camping pads
without electricity. The area offers
modern restrooms with showers and an
RV dump station.
Victoria Springs SRA (Custer) – 21
camping pads with 30- and 50-amp
electrical hookups, as well as 60 nonpad sites without electricity. Water,
modern restrooms, showers and a dump
station are available.
Wagon Train SRA (Lancaster) – 28
camping pads with 30- and 50-amp
electrical hookups and 80 non-pad sites
without electricity. Water, vault toilets
and a dump station are available.
Willow Creek SRA (Pierce) –
101 electric pad sites in the main
campground, with 64 sites having
30-amp service and 37 with 30- and
50-amp service. The campground
offers a water fill station, modern
restrooms, showers and laundry. The
dump station is located in Pierce at
the courthouse.
Windmill SRA (Buffalo) – 69
camping pads with 30- and 50-amp
electrical hookups. The area offers
water, two modern restrooms and
shower houses, a dump station and
laundry. ■
Camping is available year-round at
each of these areas; however, modern
facilities operate from April-October,
weather permitting. Primitive and tent
sites are available at each of these
areas as well.
For questions regarding American
with Disabilities Act accessibility,
contact the Parks division at the
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
by calling 402-471-0641.
For any additional questions, please
visit OutdoorNebraska.org/parks.
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 53
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
Ponca SP (Dixon) – 93 camping
pads with 30- and 50- amp hookups.
Campgrounds include showers, picnic
tables, fire pits, nearby water spigots
(not hookups), a dump station and a
playground.
RV campers relax around the fire at Indian Cave State Park in Richardson County.
Presented by
NEBRASKA SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL
Take a Kid Outside Day
T
For more information and to RSVP, contact Mary Middleton
at 402-214-8270 or nebraska.safariclubint@gmail.com.
54 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
PHOTO COURTESY OF AWLS
he Nebraska Chapter of Safari Club International (SCI)
is sponsoring a free event for all youth called “Take a
Kid Outside Day.” SCI is partnering with the Prairie Bowman
Association and others to sponsor this youth event.
It will be held June 9, 2018, from noon to 5:00 p.m.
at Pheasant Bonanza in Tekamah, Nebraska. Parents are
encouraged to join their kids for a great afternoon of fun.
Educational, hands-on outdoor classes include archery,
fishing and casting, shotgun shooting, habitat talks and
much more.
The Nebraska Chapter of Safari Club International is
dedicated to conservation and hunters’ rights. First for
hunters, Safari Club International focuses on litigation for
not only hunters’ rights but also for scientific and sustainable
conservation throughout the globe.
We also believe in the importance of maintaining a
connection between youth and the great outdoors, whether it’s
hunting, fishing, shooting sports or animal science. Our goal is
to provide opportunities for kids to increase their confidence
and knowledge through outdoor sports and learning. ■
Fishing is one of several interesting outdoor activities for
youth at “Take a Kid Outside Day.”
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 55
Summer Travel Guide
The Most Unlikely Place
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Café and Art Gallery
Authentic
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Creative Expressions Fossil Digs
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Shoot Train Watching Family Ranch since 1887
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56 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
MAY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 57
▲
I am sending you this photo of turkey hunting around
Atkinson, Nebraska, in 1967.
Left to right are Pete, Randy Kruse, Bob Duennerman
(myself), and Ernie. I cannot remember Pete and Ernie’s last
names, but they were Randy’s cousins I believe.
I am now living in Apple Valley, California, and am 83 years
old, but was originally from Grand Island.
– Bob Duennerman, Apple Valley, California
▲
Bob Colling, right, and I display a limit of pheasants we
harvested the last day of about 1969, north of Kearney. Bob
was a professor of mathematics at, then, Kearney State
College, and I was an assistant pastor at St. James Catholic
Parish. Pheasants were abundant in those days, and we
went on hunts whenever our schedules permitted. We lost
Bob last year. He was a good teacher and parishioner,
a wonderful family man and a faithful friend. Many fond
memories remain.
– Father Bernard Berger, Crawford, Nebraska
▲
This photo was taken on opening weekend
1959 southwest of Comstock on the farmstead
where my mother grew up. Pictured are my
grandfather Frank Janulewicz, my brothers
Glenn and John, my father Wendell, and me.
Bagged my first pheasant that day with my
grandpa’s Bay State single shot .410 shotgun.
– Bruce Hovie, North Platte, Nebraska
Send contributions to: Portraits from the Past, NEBRASKAland Magazine,
P.O. Box 30370, Lincoln, NE 68503-0370. Or e-mail to Tim.Reigert@Nebraska.gov. Photos should show people enjoying Nebraska outdoor activities, such as camping, boating,
hunting or fishing, and must have been taken before 1980. We will give priority to unusual photos or activities. When possible, please include a story about the photograph and
identify the people, places and approximate date it was taken. Text may be edited and photos adjusted for reproduction. All photos will be returned.
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Golf Guide
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Night Trains and Time Machines
T
he best photos come early and late in the day, and it usually pays huge dividends to stay on site.
While getting photos for this month’s article on the Oglala National Grassland, I opted for a solo
camping trip in the comforts of my tent cot.
While I could have opted to camp free of charge at pretty much any location on the federal
property, I chose to pay the $5 for the campground at Toadstool Geologic Park with its luxurious
vault toilet. It was during the week, and I was the only one at the campground. Seemingly the only person
for miles, for that matter.
The grasslands are a great destination for a group venture, but there is something special about being
on such a wide-open, sparsely populated landscape alone. Each sound from the prairie’s wildlife seems
amplified. The absence of trees and artificial light make for a great view of the night sky.
There alone, my mind turned to what it must have been like when the nearby ghost towns of Orella and
Montrose were populated. When “Buffalo Bill” Cody and Yellow Hair traversed the landscape. Back even
farther when those mammoths and Alberta Culture bison, which have given us such magnificent fossils,
were roaming the land. When volcanic ash was moving in from the West and creating the base for those
nearby toadstool formations, or when those prized agates were washing in from the rising Black Hills. A trip
to the Oglala Grassland is like a venture in a time machine.
Then, every once in a while, you get a reminder you are not alone. Trains moving north and south on a
route that includes Crawford and Ardmore, South Dakota, rumble by. No matter how serene a location in
our state may seem, the presence of humans is never too far away. Somewhat comforting,
somewhat annoying, but present nonetheless.
One of my favorite photos can be attributed to the area’s great view of the night sky,
its fantastic landforms – and that train line. It wasn’t until I got back to my computer
on another night that I realized the light from the distant train was illuminating the
background as I was lighting the foreground.
The result was an image with a mix of the past meeting the present – much like the
Oglala Grassland itself. Yes, night or day, it’s a special place. ■
Justin Haag
March 26, 2018
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Position: 743 (23 views)